The cheating diesels that Volkswagen has bought back as part of its settlement with purchasers are sitting in vehicular purgatories across the country, waiting to be repaired so they can go to new homes. Only some of them were sprung early: 69 “Dieselgate” vehicles were stolen only to turn up with fake Michigan titles at an auto auction in Kentucky. [More]
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Former Audi Exec Charged In Connection With VW’s ‘Dieselgate’
By 7.7.17
Seven months after federal authorities charged six Volkswagen executives for their part in the company’s “dieselgate” scandal, they are turning their sights toward leaders at VW’s luxury sibling Audi, accusing a former executive of giving orders that led to the diesel engine cheating scandal. [More]
VW To Pay $1.25B To Buy Back, Fix Cars With Emissions-Cheating ‘Defeat Devices’
By 2.1.17
And just like that, Volkswagen’s years-long “Dieselgate” scandal is nearing a conclusion as the carmaker has finally reached an agreement with federal regulators to fix and compensate owners of 78,000 3-liter diesel engine vehicles equipped with so-called defeat devices. [More]
600,000 Audi Vehicles Recalled Over Fire Hazard, Airbag Issues
By 1.30.17
Audi’s parent company Volkswagen is kicking off the week in style, announcing two separate recalls — one involving a potential fire risk, the other for faulty airbags — covering a total of nearly 600,000 vehicles. [More]
Volkswagen To Buy Back, Fix 83K 3.0-Liter Vehicles In Second “Dieselgate” Settlement
By 12.20.16
A day after reports surfaced that Volkswagen was in talks with federal regulators to reach a second $1 billion settlement stemming from its “dieselgate” scandal, the Environmental Protection Agency, along with the Department of Justice and state of California, announced a deal in which the carmaker will buy back or fix 83,000 3.0-liter VW, Audi, and Porsche vehicles equipped with so-called “defeat devices” that skirt federal emissions standards. [More]
Audi Launches Red Light-Sensing Car Technology In Las Vegas
By 12.7.16
Back in August, Audi announced that it was working on technology that would let cars communicate with traffic lights so drivers know when the lights will turn from red to green. The carmaker is now ready to roll that tech out onto real streets, starting in Las Vegas. [More]
New Emissions-Cheating “Defeat Device” Reportedly Found In Audi Vehicles
By 11.7.16
Volkswagen’s recently approved $15 billion settlement with the U.S. government was seen by some as the final chapter in the carmaker’s “defeat device” emissions scandal, but officials in California may have found evidence that VW used a second device to skirt carbon dioxide emissions restrictions in certain of its Audi vehicles. [More]
Volkswagen Splits With Researcher It Hired To Chronicle Company’s Nazi Connections
By 11.3.16
A number of popular German brands — including Hugo Boss, Daimler-Benz, Porsche, and BMW — had connections to or business arrangements with the Nazi party and/or the German military under Hitler. But the brand that may be most commonly linked with the Third Reich is Volkswagen, a company that had, for the last 18 years, contracted a noted historian to research VW’s embarrassing origins, including its use of forced labor. However, at a time when an ongoing emissions scandal has called the carmaker’s commitment to transparency into question, VW and the academic have gone their separate ways. [More]
Volkswagen And Audi Recall 334,000 Vehicles That May Have Fuel Leaks
By 10.7.16
Hundreds of thousands of Audi and Volkswagen vehicles have a fuel leak problem that could lead to fires, and the company has recalled them, notifying customers that they can expect repairs, um, eventually. While the company announced both fuel leak recalls at the same time, they apparently have different causes. [More]
Audi Recalls 20K SUVs Because Seats Shouldn’t Move In A Crash
By 9.27.16
Owning or driving a vehicle with a third row of seats can be convenient when hauling around your family, the neighbor’s kids, or when you simply just need to get more people from point A to point B. But you know what’s not convenient? When those seats don’t stay where they’re supposed to in a crash. For that reason, Audi is recalled nearly 20,000 SUVs. [More]
New Audi Technology Will Tell Drivers Exactly When The Light Will Change
By 8.15.16 — Updated: 12.7.16
Anyone who’s ever been in a hurry to get somewhere and found themselves stuck at a traffic light knows that waiting for it to turn from red to green can feel like an eternity. Audi wants to get rid of that feeling with new technology that lets drivers know exactly when that light will change. [More]
Report: More Volkswagen, Audi Vehicles May Have Emissions Cheating Software
By 8.8.16
Volkswagen may be poised to start putting that whole emission-cheating “defeat device” business behind it with a $15 billion agreement, but a new report suggests the carmaker may have other skeletons under its hood. [More]
Another 4.4 Million Cars From 11 Brands Recalled For Takata Airbags
By 6.2.16
Sometimes it might be shorter and easier to just publish a list of the vehicles that haven’t been recalled today. While cars continue to be manufactured and sold with the potentially harmful ammonium nitrate airbags, 2.4 million more vehicles containing the problematic safety equipment have been recalled in the last two days. [More]
Dash-Cam Captures Audi Service Tech’s Alleged Joyride In Customer’s Car
By 4.20.16
It’s a scene straight out of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, which is the only movie anyone ever quotes in these situations: a customer who took his Audi in for servicing in California says his car’s dash-cam captured a service technician taking his wheels for a joyride. [More]
Feds Sue Volkswagen For Deceptive “Clean Diesel” Advertising
By 3.29.16
We all know by now that Volkswagen’s “Clean Diesel” vehicles were anything but, and that the carmaker deliberately used so-called “defeat devices” to cheat on emissions tests. Now, in an effort to get compensation for people who purchased one of these dirty diesels, the Federal Trade Commission has sued VW, accusing the company of deceptive advertising. [More]
VW Buyback Plan Seems More Likely As Company Struggles To Find Fix For Emission-Cheating Vehicles
By 1.29.16
Since Volkswagen admitted last year to using “defeat devices” in certain cars to cheat on emissions tests, some owners and consumer advocates have pushed for the carmaker to buy back affected vehicles from customers. VW had resisted this idea, but without any other resolution in the offing, a mass buyback offer is beginning to look possible.
[More]
Takata Airbag Recall Increases By 5 Million, Ninth U.S. Death Reported
By 1.22.16
The December death of a Georgia man prompted federal regulators to increase by five million the number of vehicles recalled because of defective Takata airbags that can shoot shrapnel at drivers and passengers upon deployment. [More]
VW Expands “Goodwill Package” To Include 3-Liter Vehicles That Evade Emissions Standards
By 1.12.16
Back in November, Volkswagen announced a “goodwill package” of cash and credit intended to placate some owners of supposed “clean diesel” cars that were rigged to cheat emissions tests. Now the company is expanding this offer to include owners of 3-liter diesel cars from VW, Audi, and Porsche. [More]
